Metal and Ashes
by Twenty-Two Cents
Summary: -Spoilers for Revelations!- Earth, through the eyes of Felix Gaeta. Oneshot.


**Disclaimer:** **It's a sad thing, but I don't own Battlestar Galactica.**

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Felix Gaeta stared out the window of the Raptor in which he was seated, watching Earth grow nearer and nearer. As he watched, he couldn't help but wonder for the umpteenth time that day whether the only reason he was allowed to be among the first to go to Earth was because Roslin and Adama pitied him. Shifting what was left of his right leg into a more comfortable position, he heaved a quiet sigh that went unnoticed by the others in the Raptor. They were all too busy looking at Earth themselves to notice anything Felix was doing. He highly suspected that he could spontaneously combust without any of them realizing it until they landed on the planet and had to climb over his limp form to get out the door. And maybe not even then. But truthfully, Felix couldn't blame them. This was _Earth_. They had finally done it. After struggling to survive for three years with only the hope of this small blue planet driving them on, the human race as a whole was fairly trembling with excitement at finally reaching their destination.

There were, of course, a few who did not share this excitement, and to his chagrin, Felix found himself to be one of them. At first, when they jumped to Earth and Admiral Adama finished his rousing speech, Felix had gotten caught up in the moment. Everyone had. He had found himself embracing coworkers in the CIC, laughing with pure joy like he hadn't felt in years. But the closer and closer he got to actually seeing the planet, the less excitement he felt. In its place was an unsettled, anxious feeling that grew with each passing moment. He couldn't understand why, and understood even less when he glanced over at the Admiral and the President and saw his same concerns mirrored in their eyes. What was making them feel this way? Was it just the fear of getting their hopes up once more and having them dashed to the ground as they so often had been before? Was this some sort of instinct or premonition? Felix hadn't any idea, and guessed he wasn't the only one.

A few minutes later, the small spacecraft broke through the planet's atmosphere, sailing through the clouds toward the surface. Like the others with him, Felix found himself leaning forward until his nose was almost touching the window, his stomach practically churning with apprehension. Finally, the Raptor broke through the clouds, revealing a large, grayish land mass that was growing larger and larger as they approached it. Something about the colors of the planet didn't appear quite right. The dull gray land and the stormy, overcast skies seemed foreboding. As they approached the landing spot, splotches of brown and lighter grays could be seen on the ground below. Upon further scrutiny as the craft finally landed, Felix realized with a jolt that the splotches were in fact melted structures, and the brown was the dry, cracked ground over which a bitter wind was blowing.

Felix felt his breath catch in his throat, and his entire body tensed. Something _terrible_ had happened here; of that there was no doubt. In a daze, he watched the pilot open the door with a stunned expression, and followed him out into the ruins of what had obviously once been a city. Feeling lightheaded and numb with horror, Felix limped over to a nearby ruin and sat down, staring around him mutely. His breath came in shallow gasps, stinging his lungs with cold air that reeked of metal and ashes.

So _this_ was Earth. This dead, cold, empty, gods-forsaken ruin of a planet was the thing that had driven the human race on for so long. Sadly, Felix felt as though he shouldn't be surprised. He had suffered disappointment after disappointment for so long that he had come to expect the worst for most of the time. But nothing could have prepared him -or any of them- for this.

The crunching of dirt and small rocks behind him caused Felix to turn slowly around. Behind him stood Adama and Roslin, both staring around them wordlessly. Adama bent over and picked up a handful of the dark, rocky soil, rubbed it between his fingers, then threw it back to the ground. His face tightened as though he were fighting back emotion, his breathing quickening visibly. In contrast, Roslin's expression was completely blank, her eyes devoid of any of the anticipation or joy that they had held only an hour before. She simply blinked, and in a hollow voice, she captured Felix's feelings with one now completely hopeless word:

"Earth."


End file.
